Forever Yours
by potterfan2288
Summary: Lily has received the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to represent Hogwarts at a prestigious conference. But what will happen when she discovers that her partner is her arch-nemesis? Will love blossom or will chaos ensue? RR
1. Default Chapter

A/n: Hey peeps! This is my first L/J story and I don't know if this idea has been used already or not. So if it has, it's by coincidence, I didn't plagiarize anything. I hope you like it! Please read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: Most of the characters in the story are not mine. They belong to the wonderful JKR! The plot is mine, however.  
  
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'character's thoughts'  
  
Our story starts out in Lily and James' 7th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England.  
  
Lily Evans was absolutely furious! ' This is the last straw! If that bloody git pulls one more prank on me, I'm going to hunt him down and murder him! As an afterthought, she added, and his daft friends too!'  
  
"Lily wait!" cried her friend Arabella Figg panting after her. Arabella was Lily's best friend. The two of them had gotten along since they first met on the Hogwarts Express in their First Year. Lily, who had been extremely nervous, was very glad to find a friend who knew about the Wizarding World. Arabella had attempted to explain to Lily, everything she knew about Hogwarts on the ride to the majestic castle. Just imagine their joy when they were both sorted into Gryffindor. Since then, their friendship had blossomed and now, the two were nearly inseparable. Lily took a close look at Arabella as her best friend caught up to her own quick pace. Arabella had straight, silky, soft straw colored hair, which came up to her shoulder in length. She also had hazel eyes now filled with concern for her friend. She was quite unlike Lily who had long, flowing red hair well past her shoulder and piercing green eyes.  
  
"What are you going to tell Professor Snibb now?" Arabella asked worriedly.  
  
"I don't know. I have no idea where that pathetic excuse for a human put my essay! Just wait till I see him!" Lily exclaimed, still seething with anger.  
  
Arabella nodded her head at her and replied, "I still don't understand why you two can't get along! You can get along with everyone else but him, and he's affable to everyone but you!"  
  
"Don't ask me! I have no idea why that prat is bent upon ruining my life!" Lily answered.  
  
"I know why!" chirped a singsong voice from behind them. It was none other than Sirius Black. "It's because he has a crush on you and wants to ask you out!"  
  
"Excuse me?!?!" replied two voices in unison, one of them being Lily's.  
  
"Please, Padfoot! You know I can do better than Evans! Anyone is better than Lily Moody Evans!" said James Potter with his trademark smirk. James Potter was in a sense the person that all the girls worshipped at Hogwarts. James was the biggest flirt in school. He went through girls like people browse through magazines. He had a new girlfriend, practically every day! Yet, knowing this, the girls still swooned every time he displayed his classic, sweet and innocent smile. His raven black, messy hair gave him quite a flirtatious ambience, which he always used to his advantage. A single glance from his dreamy, chocolate eyes could make any girl's heart melt. All except one, the same one who had called him "a git", "a pathetic excuse for a human" and "a prat" within a span of ten minutes.  
  
"I would rather go out with that greasy haired moron Snape over Potter even if they were the last two males left on the bloody planet!" Lily spat, "And for the last time, STOP CALLING ME MOODY!" she roared.  
  
"You know, I think she's right Padfoot," James replied grinning, "We can't call her moody if the only mood she's ever in is angry! So, it should be Lily Angry Evans!" he finished, enjoying the effect that this was having on Lily. He loved to watch her become furious, ready to explode any second.  
  
Lily eyed James and his friends, who had now gathered around him waiting for the typical blowup that took place whenever Lily and James were in the same vicinity. James and his friends were the most popular kids in school, mostly due to their extremely good looks. All except one of them were quite tall for one thing. Lily glanced at James' best friend, Sirius Black. He, like James had messy black hair as well and a goofy grin plastered on his face. Girls in her dormitory adored that silly smile and his dark brown puppy dog eyes. Personally, Lily thought they were mental. Then there was Remus Lupin. He was the quieter and the more studious of the whole group. He had sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes, which added to his boyish good looks. Peter Pettigrew had always seemed to be the oddball of the group. He was short and plump and just seemed to tag along with everyone else for no reason. These four were constituents of a group called the Marauders. The Marauders were known for their attractiveness and their endless pranks. There could never be a dull moment when they were around because the Marauders were always cooking up some sort of mischief to "keep things lively", as they claimed.  
  
Lily knew that they were all waiting for her to lecture and yell at James for being a prat and annoying her all the time. However, she surprised everyone, including herself by simply walking away, without so much as a backwards glance. She was feeling proud of herself too, for not letting that git get to her, until the git in question said, "Looks like Evans ran out of comebacks!"  
  
This comment was the end of her patience for Lily. She whipped around and threw James a murderous glance.  
  
"Wow Evans! If looks could kill, I'd be dead; well actually, I think I would've died a long time ago! However, since they can't, it seems that you'll have to say something. It's really not that difficult of a concept you know," he paused smirking at Lily's tomato red face, "If you want, I could teach you. You form words and then sound comes out and if you're really good at it, sometimes you might create a sentence, and even go as far as to express a coherent thought! But don't expect that overnight. It takes practice, you know" he concluded, very matter-of-factly.  
  
"Potter, the only thing I could ever learn from you is how to be an egocentric, useless, extremely irksome bag of scum!" she shrieked, "Also, you will pay for what you did today! I'll wipe that smile off your pigheaded face if it's the last thing I do! I've had it with you and your childish antics! You're a Head Boy, act like it once in a while dammit!" She abruptly turned around and took rapid strides towards the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"Nice going James! You made her curse! She only does that when she's severely pissed!" chuckled Arabella. She kissed Sirius on the cheek and quietly whispered, "I'll see you later" before hurrying along to find Lily.  
  
Yes it was true, much to Lily's dismay, Arabella and Sirius were going out, since 5th Year in fact. Lily had been shocked when Arabella had told her that she was Sirius's girlfriend. At first Lily thought it was a joke, but she was soon horrified as she learned the truth. Arabella still clearly recalled her friend's shocked reaction: "Are you serious? You're going out with Black? Sirius Black? As in Potter's best friend? As in the best friend of my archrival? Are you out of your mind? Oh no, did those morons put a hex on you or something? I demand you go to Madam Freypomp (Hogwarts Nurse) right now!" Arabella had to calmly explain the situation to Lily, who still didn't comprehend how "anyone could possibly be interested in any of those Marauder ijits." Lily had spent the next two weeks constantly pointing out other attractive guys to Arabella and making a list of all of Sirius' faults, before declaring, "It's no use! It's hopeless! I've lost you to them! Whatever spell they put on you is irrevocable. But don't worry, I'm still here, and I will fight for our cause! I won't let you down Bella! I'll make them pay for what they did to you!" she had finished dramatically. Arabella had simply rolled her eyes and laughed every time Lily said, "You're out of your bloody mind!"  
  
Lily had always been short-tempered, and for some reason, it seemed to be the shortest when the name Potter was involved. For example, in Fifth Year when Lily had discovered she was a Prefect, she was overjoyed, however that joy was short-lived when she had found a Prefect badge resembling hers, pinned to James' robe along with a smug grin plastered on his face. She almost started weeping and as soon as the Welcome Back Feast was over, she had stomped off to Dumbledore's office and literally asked him "Are you out of your mind? Potter a Prefect? He will be the cause of my ruin! I'll go crazy if I'm forced to work with him! Of all the people in Gryffindor, it had to be him? He's been in more trouble than anyone in this whole bloody school! Is this supposed to be punishment for something I did wrong? Is this about Snape declaring his undying love to Professor McGonnagol last Valentine's Day? I swear Professor, that wasn't me! It was Potter, he concocted some kind of strange mixture from this old book in the library! In any case, this is cruel and unusual punishment, and that's illegal Professor!" she had concluded earnestly.  
  
"Miss Evans I understand your problem, however Mister Potter is a top student, such as yourself and plus I thought that this would be a good opportunity for you to resolve you differences" he had answered with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
Lily had stood disbelievingly, agape at what the Headmaster had told her. "Right.resolve our differences...with Potter.well that'll be an easy task!" she had cried sarcastically, "Sleep well, Professor. A good night's rest will do you wonders!"  
  
Dumbledore chuckled when he heard Lily mumble, "I couldn't have just received detention like everyone else" on her way out of his office.  
  
Arabella found Lily curled up in a comfy chair by the fire, in the Common Room, doing what she always did when she was upset, hugging her special teddy bear Mr.Puffles. Arabella had always thought that it was childish, but Lily was unable to explain the solace and comfort that she found by snuggling against her teddy bear. It seemed to her that all of her problems disappeared and she was a little girl again, playing on the swings, without a care in the world and simply enjoying her life. It had been quite a mystery when that bear had simply appeared on her bed one day after she had gotten in a particular upsetting fight with James. Both of them were unsure of where it came from and Bella had suggested that they turn in to McGonnagol to examine it incase James and his friends had intended it to be another prank. Lily was very taken with it however, and dissuaded Bella from informing the Head of the Gryffindor House. She snapped out of her flashbacks and inquired if Lily was all right: "Lils, are you ok?"  
  
Lily acknowledged Bella's presence and gave a long sigh. "I don't know. Why does he do this to me Bella? What have I ever done to him? Why me? I would understand if he teased all the girls, but it's just me! I really hate it. It makes me so bitter, not to mention livid. I wish he'd just let me live in peace!"  
  
Arabella's heart really went out for her friend. She deeply sympathized with her and knew that Lily was the person who always took things a bit seriously. "I don't know what to tell you sweetie. Just, hang in there. Maybe, you guys will learn to get along someday and realize that all of this arguing was just your way of declaring your clandestine love to each other!" she said, somewhat as if in a reverie.  
  
"Umm.sure.. that's going to happen!" Lily replied, eyeing her friend strangely, "Yes absolutely! How did you guess? We're going public the day McGonnagol decides to cancel class and hire male strippers for our enjoyment!"  
  
They both burst out laughing at the ridiculous thought. "Or maybe a hole in the Earth will just swallow him up one day and he'll disappear out of your life forever!" said Arabella.  
  
"Don't give me false hope Bella!" Lily said wistfully, "I have wasted seven years of birthday wishes on that overgrown hairball; it still hasn't come true yet!" Lily replied, her voice filled with disappointment.  
  
Arabella gave a small laugh and asked, "When are you going to bed?"  
  
"Not any time soon, that's for sure! I have to re-write that 4-foot long History of Magic essay that, that idiot of a windbag Potter destroyed. I'm going to be up all night, researching Goblin Rebellions in the 13th century! It'll be worse than that three hour lecture Professor Snibb gave me after class about turning in your homework on time." Lily cried.  
  
"My deepest sympathies. Anything I can get for you?" Arabella asked, praying that Lily wouldn't say anything like, "You can bring me the good news that Potter has been banished to Tasmania and is being forced to live with the monkeys there!" She laughed at her own joke.  
  
"Five gallons of coffee should be enough.for an hour or so. So that's like 80 billion gallons!" she groaned, "I'm going to be up forever!"  
  
"How about some motivation? The sooner you finish your homework, the sooner you can plot your revenge on Potter!" Arabella said eagerly.  
  
"Ahh! Music to my ears! Indeed, true inspiration! You're a lifesaver, Bella! I don't know what I'd do without you! Must finish homework to start plotting schemes to get the ultimate revenge!" Lily dramatically replied with a hint of an "evil smile".  
  
Arabella wouldn't have been surprised if Lily had burst forth with a, "MUAHAHAH!" ' Typical! They are so in love! Oh well, I'll get to say, "I told you so" at their wedding! Can't wait!'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~* A/n: Well? What did you think? Not much action in this chapter, mostly introductions, but you'll definitely see more of a plot develop, next chapter. Please review! Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Try not to flame too much though. |  
  
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	2. You learn something new everyday

A/n: Thanks to J.E.A.R.K Potter who reviewed. I appreciate it! Anyway, on with the story. Just a reminder, '..' are a character's thoughts.  
  
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Lily Evans was exhausted. Writing a 4-foot long History of Magic essay, all alone in the Gryffindor Common Room wasn't exactly her ideal way of spending the night. But, being the studious and erudite person that she was, she worked throughout the night until she finally finished at around 3:30 in the morning. Too fatigued to go to the Girls Dormitory, she collapsed on the nearby couch with her essay lying on the table next to it.  
  
In the Boys Dormitory in the morning...  
  
"James, wake up!" Remus cried for the third time, pulling the curtains from James' four-poster bed.  
  
"Remus...I'm telling you nicely for the last time! GO AWAY!!!" James yelled sleepily.  
  
"Remus, just give up. You've been doing this every morning for the past six years and it has never worked before, so why will asking him nicely work now?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Exactly! People need to learn to leave me alone!" James muttered from the mess of tangled bed sheets and pillows.  
  
Ignoring that comment, Sirius continued in a whisper so that only Remus could hear, "Watch the master, and learn!" * He slowly skulked to where James was sleeping and got close to the pillow under which James head was, and then yelled at the top of his lungs, "JAMESIE POO! IT'S TIME TO GET UP! WOULDN'T WANT TO KEEP THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, LILY EVANS WAITING FOR SO LONG, NOW WOULD YOU?"  
  
James was up in a flash chasing Sirius around the room, screaming a few choice words and threatening to hex him into the next galaxy. All the while, Sirius was laughing heartily and teasing him, "James loves Lily. Lalalalala! Potter and Evans, sitting in a tree. K I S S I N G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Prongsie with a baby carriage!"  
  
By now James was livid. "Sirius Black! If you don't stop that right now, I swear, I will slit your throat and feed you to your deranged owl! I'm sure Nibbles won't mind pecking the life out of you!"  
  
"Aww is that the best you can do, ickle Jamsie Wamsie! And here I thought you were upset!" Sirius said in a false, distressed voice.  
  
By now, even Remus wasn't able to stop himself from chortling as he watched Sirius run for his life and then James trying to take Sirius' life. After a while, when James had calmed down and Sirius was able to breathe properly after chuckling so much, James calmly said to Sirius, "Sirius, if you ever do that again, they will be searching for your remnants on Pluto! And just for clarification, I don't even like, let alone love Evans!" he concluded icily.  
  
They got dressed and managed to wake up Peter who had slept throughout the entire James and Sirius episode. Then they filed into the Common Room about to go to breakfast when James spotted something that made him snigger. "Hey guys, look at that couch over there and tell me what you see!" he said.  
  
"Ahhhh! It's a giant redheaded monster! Help! Help! I need protection! Peter, get in front of me! Don't worry; if you die I'll make sure that those magazines under your bed are well taken care of!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically, winking at Peter who was now very pink from embarrassment. "Seriously, what is that thing Prongs? Did you turn Snape into something bizarre and not tell us, because you're going to be in so much trouble if you did that! How dare you not take us with you?" Sirius remarked, feigning anger.  
  
Clutching his stomach from laughing so hard, he managed to say, "No Sirius! That's Evans!" then he fell behind the armchair unable to control his laughter.  
  
"Ohhhh!" Sirius said, as if a light bulb had just been turned on inside his head. "I see, I see! So what's our dear little Ms. Evans doing down here?" he asked casually.  
  
"Homework of course!" Remus declared.  
  
"How do you know that?" Sirius and James asked in unison.  
  
Remus sighed and explained, "Well weren't you two the ones who ruined her essay? Obviously she was up all night re-writing it!"  
  
"Oh yea! Haha! The expression on her face yesterday was to die for!" Sirius guffawed.  
  
"Hey guys, look what I found!" James said dangling a piece of parchment that looked like Lily's homework. He suddenly got a wicked smile on his face, "How tragic will it be if this homework, oh I don't know, accidentally got lost!"  
  
"James, I have to admit it. You are the king of pranks!" Sirius said.  
  
James bowed and oh so modestly exclaimed, "I know Sirius! Took you long enough to figure it out!"  
  
"No c'mon guys. You've already ruined it once. It's too Slytherin-ish to do it again. Especially, since she stayed up all night finishing it." Remus reasoned.  
  
"I suppose! Remus, you always ruin the fun!" Sirius pouted.  
  
James looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "True. But, that doesn't mean we can't frighten and worry her out of her mind!"  
  
"She's going to get tired of it and tell McGonnagol. Then you two will be in detentions for the rest of the year!" Remus cautioned.  
  
"Yeah, but it'll be worth seeing the furious look on her face!" James declared, "Plus, I've always wanted to shout and wake Evans up"  
  
He sauntered over to the couch where she was sleeping and gazed at her as she lay there. He brushed aside a strand of her hair and thought to himself, 'She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping. It's a shame I have to disturb her.'  
  
While James doubted his intentions, Lily stirred and eventually woke up. The first thing she saw was a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring off into space. 'Wow, I wonder who that is! Such gorgeous eyes.' Then she looked up and saw a mess of black hair and to her horror realized whom she had said had gorgeous eyes. 'Ewwwww! I just complimented Potter's eyes. The pain, the agony, it burns! I've been scarred for life. I may never be able to look at a pair of eyes the same way again!' she thought to herself in distress. She suddenly got up and bumped into James' head in the process.  
  
"Owwww!" James yelped in pain. "What's your head made of Evans? Rocks?"  
  
"Hardy har har!" she replied sarcastically. "That's what you get for trying to disrupt my beauty rest!"  
  
James coughed loudly and muttered something that sounded remarkably like, "Not that it was helping in the first place!"  
  
She spun on her heels and made a dash for the Girls Dormitory. She was just at the top when she heard a teasing voice say, "Oh Evans...missing something?"  
  
'Oh no! My essay!' she raced down the stairs at top speed, but then realized it was futile.  
  
"Looking for this?" he asked innocently, dangling a piece of parchment. She winced as she saw her neat handwriting scribbled all over the parchment.  
  
She took a deep breath and with great aplomb said, "Potter, give me back my homework."  
  
"What's the magic word?" he tantalizingly asked. He smirked as she did her best not to blow up at him.  
  
She swallowed her pride and reasoned that if she gave in she might just have her homework back, "PLEASE, can I have my homework back?" she requested through gritted teeth.  
  
"No, I feel like keeping it. Thanks for asking though! Better luck next time." he responded nonchalantly. He watched as her face started to take on the color of her fiery, red hair. He saw Sirius doubled over with laughter in the corner and Remus rolling his eyes, no doubt at their immaturity.  
  
"That's it! Potter if you don't give me back my homework this instant, I will make you the most miserable person to have ever graced his ugly presence on this planet!" she spat.  
  
"Oh really? And exactly, how do you plan on doing that? Teaching me to be like you?" he questioned with almost childlike innocence.  
  
Lily finally exploded. She lunged at him and knocked him over an armchair. She had thought that it would take him by surprise, but no such luck. 'Damn him and his fast Quidditch skills!' James had grabbed her hand and held on tight when he had seen her reach for the parchment in his other hand. So now, Lily was literally on top of James, inches away from his face, with her wrist in his grip. She gazed into his chocolate colored eyes and for the first time saw what every other girl saw when they were near James Potter. He had an intoxicating effect on everyone. Her other hand (the one James wasn't holding) was lying on his chest. She could tell from what she felt underneath that Quidditch had definitely done his body wonders. 'I wonder what he looks like shirtless.'  
  
James meanwhile was quite enjoying this. He stared into her inquisitive, intense green eyes. Her long red tresses were spread out and he could just smell the heavenly scent of her shampoo. 'Roses, I think.' They were both lying there, locked eyes. 'I should kiss her' James thought looking at her rosy pink lips. He was just about to put his idea into action when a certain someone cleared his throat.  
  
"Ok guys, I know you two have the hots for each other, but you are aware of the fact that there are rooms for that! No need to display such overwhelming affection in the Common Room. Some of us have to eat breakfast afterwards!" Sirius finished, sniggering.  
  
Both James and Lily had gone a matching shade of red and Lily suddenly found the whole situation awkward. 'Not that I actually liked being on top of James Potter in the first place' she said trying hopelessly to convince herself. She immediately got off and looked anywhere but at him. He hastily handed her, her homework and dashed off after Sirius yelling something about Unforgivable Curses. As she collected herself, she stood appalled that a few minutes ago she had been wondering what James Potter looked like shirtless. 'Merlin, I can't believe I was thinking that! But those incredible eyes...' She shuddered and proceeded to reprimand herself, 'Lily Evans, what is wrong with you? You were thinking good things about the enemy! Have you gone weak and fallen for him? Nooo!' She would never let that happen. And just to prove it to herself she set about planning a devious prank (ignoring the hunger pains in her stomach) on the miserable prat Potter. She amused herself by thinking, 'Haha! Potter the Prat!'  
  
James, who was now seated comfortably in the Great Hall for breakfast was extremely worried. 'I can't believe I wanted to kiss her! Gross! I wanted to kiss Evans?!?! But she looked so adorable with her silky locks and...' He shook his head and snapped out of his reverie and stared at the toast and orange juice in front of him. 'James Potter! What is wrong with you? This never happened! You never wanted to passionately snog Evans. You don't like her at all! She is your archrival.'  
  
"Prongs, you alright? You seem a bit shaken up." Sirius noticed.  
  
"I don't like her! What are you talking about? I never wanted to kiss her!" James cried frantically, looking quite paranoid.  
  
Sirius with his smug grin said, "Uh-huh! Sure you didn't!" He left to go find Arabella. She, as of now officially owed him ten Sickles.  
  
"Wait a minute" James said seriously, turning around and facing Remus, "What did Sirius ask me?"  
  
Remus playfully replied, "He asked when the wedding was and where you and Lily are going for the honeymoon. He went to go pick out a clean suit, since he's your best man! Oh yeah, and I think he mentioned something about posting notices and the pictures he took this morning of you two looking so cozy together!"  
  
James paled considerably and with wide eyes roared, "He did what? He took pictures? When? I didn't see him do anything!"  
  
"Well of course you didn't notice anything! You were too engrossed in attempting to swallow Lily's mouth or kiss her as you would put it!" Remus chuckled.  
  
"Remus, please tell me you're joking! If word gets out that I was found with Evans and there weren't any flying objects or foul words, my reputation is ruined! Six years of hard work down the drain!" he pleadingly exclaimed.  
  
"Prongs, would I ever lie to you? Good luck!" he gave James a sympathetic pat on the back and left to go to Potions.  
  
"My life is officially over!" James declared morosely.  
  
A short distance away, in the Gryffindor Tower, Lily had slumped over on her chair and said that same thing when Sirius had gleefully showed Lily, as he liked to call it, "The Picture Perfect, Once in a Lifetime Moments!"  
  
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* Taken from The Lion King.  
  
A/n: Well what did you think? Aww fluffy moments! If you want more, review! Review! REVIEW! LOL, ok I'm done persuading you guys now! 


	3. Foreboding

A/n: I haven't updated in a while...the sole reason being SCHOOL!! And oh yeah AIM, but mostly school! ;)  
  
Warning: Only the plot is mine as well as one character mentioned in this chapter (Elise De Lorme).  
  
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The "Picture Perfect, Once in a Lifetime Moment" happened to be a snapshot of Lily lying on top of James and both of them shyly smiling like two lovers who just shared their first kiss. (Ironic because kissing is exactly what they were thinking about!) James came running into the Common Room out of breath and scanned the area for Sirius. He found him huddled over with Arabella in a corner of the room. He also saw Lily with her head in his hands, and a few of her friends vainly attempting to console her. 'Sirius must've shown her the picture!' James thought. He decisively march to where Sirius was standing and with his nimble hands, grabbed the picture out of his hand and with a victorious grin declared, "I'll take that, thank you." He held it out of reach while Sirius was trying to grasp it when, suddenly Arabella sneaked up on James and snatched it out of his left hand.  
  
"I think not!" smirked Arabella.  
  
James grumbled and with pursed lips calmly said, "Padfoot, can I have a word with you," he glanced at Arabella and added, "in private?"  
  
"I don't know James, can you?" Sirius innocently retorted, knowing that James was fuming inside.  
  
"NOW PADFOOT! BEFORE I HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION!" roared James.  
  
"For Merlin's sake Prongs, I was just joking! Some people are so touchy!" Sirius said appearing shocked at James' reaction.  
  
Dropping the idea of being civil, James dragged Sirius upstairs; all the while ignoring the bewildered looks everyone was giving them because Sirius was shouting, "HELP! No, don't rape me! I know I am irresistible Prongsie, but I don't swing that way! Someone help!" at the top of his lungs.  
  
As soon as they were in the Boys' Dormitory, James locked the door and glared at his best friend. "Padfoot, you can't show anyone that picture!" James declared.  
  
"And why not?" Sirius casually asked.  
  
"You know very well why not! My reputation will be devastated! Ever since I stepped into Hogwarts, Evans and I have been enemies! I can't afford to ruin it because you took advantage of an incident! Please, Padfoot! You're my best friend. Try and understand, will you?" James pleaded.  
  
Sirius looked at him thoughtfully and paced back and forth. "Hmm.....what to do.....what to do?" He gripped James' shoulders and quite diplomatically answered, "Well James, after much deliberation and thinking, I have decided that since we are sworn Marauder best friends for life, I suppose I owe you this much."  
  
James exhaled a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Gryffindor! I would've strangled you and forced you to come to this decision anyway!" James replied grinning cheekily. They raced down the stairs together, joking and laughing, the way any two friends would, but their friendship was different. It was deeper and stronger than everyone assumed it to be. They were more like brothers than best friends! Who could've guessed that one day one would be accused for being an accomplice in the murder of the other?  
  
Sirius left to go talk to Arabella and destroy the picture. Meanwhile, James spotted Lily cuddled up on the couch with a pillow and biting her nails. "Nervous habits" he chuckled to himself. She was gazing into the fire, lost in a daze when James sauntered by her. "Evans? Time to return to Earth! We all know you belong on a different planet, but unfortunately for all of us, you're stuck here! Shame really. You know I heard in a Muggle show somewhere that there's something called a mothership that takes you to your home planet and FUO's or was it UFO's......maybe"  
  
He never got to finish because Lily snapped out of her reverie and with a grave expression on her face, brusquely inquired, "What did Sirius say he's going to do with that picture?"  
  
James studied her carefully. The fire behind her was making her copper hair glow to the point where he could see almost a halo surrounding her, like that of an angel. He shook his head to rid his mind of such nauseating thoughts and decided that for once in his life he was going to act civilized towards Evans because he had experienced the same apprehension and nervousness that she was at the moment. So he simply said, "The picture's being torn apart as we speak," and then he left, leaving a speechless Lily. She was expecting a sarcastic remark or a joke of some kind. This new, serious side of James made her uneasy and frankly a bit suspicious. She sighed. Potter had been for lack of a better term, nice to her, and actually done her a favor. He didn't have to tell her what Sirius was going to do with it. He could've let her have sleepless nights and waited until all that was left of her fingernails was microscopic pieces. This would mean that she was indebted to Potter. Feeling quite unsettled, she decided that she didn't like this feeling and that she had to repay him now. Reluctantly, she aborted her carefully construed scheme of revenge as a way of returning his favor.  
  
James studied Lily from the other side of the room. He wanted to see her reaction. Frankly, he had surprised himself. 'Maybe, I owe it to her for making her life miserable all the time.' He saw as a disconcerted look crossed her face. She bit her lower lip as if debating something with herself, then with a sigh she started for the stairs, no doubt to go to the Girls' Dormitory. In a few strides he blocked her path to the staircase and with a lopsided grin, declared, "You know Evans.....I did you a favor back there. I think you're indebted to me now."  
  
Lily raised an eyebrow, mildly astonished at how they thought alike. "Trust me Potter. I already repaid you. More like saved your sorry butt, ehh tomato, tomahto" was the enigmatic reply. She pushed past him and left a puzzled James behind. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*  
  
A few days later, after classes were over, students were crowding around the entrance of the Great Hall. Lily, seeing the commotion, tried to find out what the fuss was about. She spotted Bella's blond locks among the crowd and asked, "What's going on?"  
  
"It's a sign up for something.....some sort of prestigious conference. I don't know too many details. We can find out more when we get to the front, that is if we ever get to the front!" she exclaimed. Once they did, they were able to discern the notice posted on the great oak door.  
  
International Future Diplomats Conference  
  
Secretary General: Elise De Lorme  
Place: Paris, France  
Dates: Dec17th – Jan2nd For more details: Owl the address below or ask your Headmaster/Headmistress  
International Future Diplomats Conference  
2888 Rue De Berri  
Paris, France  
75008  
  
Sign up below if you're interested. Eight representatives from Hogwarts will be selected based on the judgment of the professors and myself. The  
delegates will be announced after the Halloween Feast on October 31st.  
  
Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster)  
  
Lily and Bella quickly added their names and ducked out of the mayhem taking place in front of the Great Hall. "It sounds so interesting! I really want to go!" Lily shouted excitedly to Bella over the boisterous crowd. Bella signaled to go upstairs because apparently she couldn't hear anything. By the time they got to the Girls' Dormitory, they were already giggling about meeting cute guys from foreign nations.  
  
"Guess what else I heard?" Arabella gushed eagerly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The students who go on the trip don't have to make up the work they missed because apparently this thing is intense work in itself," Bella replied. Lily frowned. It's not that she wanted to make up the work, but the intense hard work they had to put into this conference seemed intimidating.  
  
"Oh look at us Bella! We haven't even been selected and already we're so worked up over it!" Lily said sighing. "But you know what would completely ruin this trip?"  
  
"What? Potter coming along?" Bella teased.  
  
"For your information, I was going to reply, Potter and his friends coming! So there!" Lily declared, poking her tongue out.  
  
"You're hopeless!" Bella decided. "Good night!" She flopped on her bed and was asleep in a few minutes.  
  
Lily hugged Mr.Puffles before going to bed. She knew it was rather childish, but she couldn't help it. Mr.Puffles held sentimental value to her. She gave up trying to guess who sent it, ages ago. But she thanked the person from the bottom of her heart for sending it to her. Then, she slowly fell asleep, dreaming of meeting a charming boy her age at the conference and falling in love with him. Little did she know her dreams were about to come true!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*  
  
A/n: not much action here.....but there will be in the upcoming chapters! Review! Review! I'll give you three guesses to find out what im gonna say next! (if u dnt know...it wuz gonna b REVIEWWW!) 


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